Code-switching in The Wire

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Abstract

This MA thesis examines the use of code-switching in six characters in the HBO series The Wire. Three Afro-American and three Caucasian characters, placed in the low, middle and high social stratum, were chosen. The aim of the thesis is to examine how code-switching differs in characters of different race and social strata, as well as the effect external factors such as "setting" and "interlocutor relationships" has on characters' language use. The results shows that the two varieties in question, Standard English and Afro-American Vernacular English, are used in different manners when portraying characters. The amount of code-switching attested in the characters are in some data sets clearly affected by the external factors, and race and social standing seemed to greatly affect the amount of code-switching found in the characters.